Civil litigation

In the context of the new Pt 36, where money claims and non-money claims are treated in the same way, “more advantageous” is an open-textured phrase, permitting a wide-ranging review of all the facts and circumstances of the case in deciding whether or not the judgment, which is the fruit of the litigation, was worth the fight. Part 36 encourages both sides to make offers to settle.

Compromise is better than contest, for the litigants concerned, for the court and for the administration of justice as a whole. Litigation is time consuming and it comes at a cost, emotional as well as financial. Those are, therefore, appropriate factors to take into account in deciding whether the battle was worth it. Money is not the sole governing criterion (Lord Justice Ward LJ at paras 30–31).